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Rice Football 2023 Game Preview: SMU

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Rice football hosts SMU this week in their lone crossover season as AAC foes. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

SMU enters this game riding high, winners of four-straight in AAC play, one of only two undefeated teams in league play with Tulane being the other. Rice football knows that all too well, falling by two points to the Green Wave last Saturday before this upcoming class of Texan squads. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s matchup between Rice and SMU.

Kickoff time | 6:30 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPNU (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs SMU on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. Look for a recap of the game on the site afterward as well as on The Roost Podcast, which should be released early next week.

Sizing up the contenders

If the season ended today, SMU would be playing in the AAC Championship Game. It doesn’t. SMU still has some work to be done before they can have a chance to win a conference championship before departing for the ACC. That task is still manageable if they lose to Rice, but they’d have a much thinner margin for error.

On the other side, Rice football’s championship aspirations took a sizable dent last weekend against Tulane, putting bowl eligibility front and center. If Rice wants to reach six wins and clinch a bowl berth, they need two win two of their final four games and they’d rather not let things go down to the wire like they did a year ago.

Series History

All Time | SMU leads, 48-41-1
Last Five | SMU leads, 3-2
Last Meeting | Home 2012, Rice won 36-14

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Daniels – 173/272 (63.6 percent), 2362 yards, 19 TD, 6 INT
Rushing | Connors – 58 carries, 337 yards (5.8 yards per carry), 4 TD / Otoviano – 56 carries, 209 yards (3.7 yards per carry), 4 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 41 receptions, 692 yards (16.9 yds/rec), 8 TDs / MacNeill – 22 receptions, 290 yards (13.2 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Wyatt – 57/ Conti – 53 / Morrison – 47
Pass Breakups | Wyatt, Fresch, Taylor, Devones – 5 / Morrison -4, Jean – 3
Interceptions | Taylor -2 / Devones, Conti – 1

SMU Stat Notables

Passing | Stone – 151/254 (59.5 percent), 2138 yards, 19 TD, 5 INT
Rushing | Knighton – 83 carries, 456 yards (5.5 yards per carry), 4 TD / Johnson Jr. – 43 carries, 248 yards (5.8 ypc), 1 TD
Receiving | Kerley – 18 receptions, 319 yards (17.7 yards per reception), 2 TD / Maryland – 23 receptions, 315 yards (13.7 yds/rec), 5 TD / Bailey – 27 receptions, 311 yards (11.5 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Wilson – 44 / Nwokobia – 41 / Walker – 36
Pass Breakups | McGill, Sanders, Woods – 5 / Walker – 4
Interceptions | Six tied with one

SMU X-Factor | Protect the football

In the non-triple option category, SMU leads the AAC in turnovers lost through the first nine weeks of the regular season. Entering Saturday, they were in the Top 25 nationally in fewest turnovers, committing just seven giveaways in their first seven games. They did not turn the ball over at all against Tulsa. Their offense did the rest.

And while clean games have been the norm for the Mustangs so far this season, they haven’t been a guarantee. SMU has committed multiple turnovers twice this season, on the road against Oklahoma and on the road against TCU. SMU lost both of those games. They’ve had a plus turnover margin in every other game against FBS opponents this season.

For SMU, keeping this explosive offense on schedule has to be priority number one. Everything else will balance itself out. And Rice has shown on several occasions so far they can be dangerous if left to linger late in games. SMU best not play with fire and put the ball in the box instead of in the arms of Rice defenders.

Rice X-Factor | Get off the field

The Rice offense has had its lulls, but more often than not, it’s able to get points in bunches. If the Rice defense can generate a turnover or two and find a way to force a few punts, the Owls possess the necessary talent to win a shootout against one of the conference’s most prolific offenses.

Against Tulane, Rice forced exactly one punt and allowed Tulane to go 2-for-2 on fourth down before Pratt chucked the ball a mile high to milk clock in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Had Rice managed even one more stop, they might be talking about one of the bigger wins in program history right now, but they’re not.

SMU hasn’t beaten themselves very often this year, and it’s probably a fool’s errand to hope for the Mustangs’  offense to stay out of sync for long. No, if Rice wants to win this one, the defense is going to have to combine its opportunistic abilities with clutch plays on third and fourth down. That might very well be the difference.

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One Final Thing

Rice football has a choice during this week of practice. They can choose to allow the Tulane defeat to be disappointing and move forward or allow it to be defining and impact how they move forward with four games to go. The latter obviously has the potential to be much more detrimental to their upcoming matchup with SMU than the former.

And for whatever reason, this team has shown itself to be rather resilient. It’s hard to believe they’ll let this game beat them again, but it also feels like a bit of wishful thinking to dream they’ll have all their issues ironed out before going toe-to-toe with another of the AAC’s best teams.

Beat SMU and people won’t dwell on the Tulane game or start to assume the worst as the season enters its final quartet of games. Having the added bragging rights element of a win over the Mustangs on their way out of the conference would be something for the Rice fanbase to hold on to for who knows how long until these two teams play again down the road.

So, as cliche as it sounds, Rice football has to figure out a way to go 1-0 this week. Do that, and a bowl berth starts to look much more plausible. Do that this week, and it’s hard to come up with a reason Rice can’t hang with anyone left on their schedule

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Rice Football 2023: Tulane Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football heads home this weekend for a massive game against AAC frontrunner Tulane. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

It was back to business as usual for Rice football on the practice field this week. The Owls came out firing early in the week, looking crisp on both sides of the ball as they prepare for one of their toughest challenges yet: a ranked Tulane team visiting Rice Stadium this weekend. Before kickoff, Rice had a few things to iron out on the practice field.

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This week’s roundup focuses on some of the successes Rice football unearthed against Tulsa and how they plan to keep those good things going, plus some special teams and injury updates and a few nuggets on offensive playmakers who could be on the rise.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

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Rice Football 2023 Game Preview: Tulane

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Rice football heads back to Houston to host Tulane this weekend. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

There is only one matchup this weekend pitting AAC teams with winning conference records and it’s being played in  Houston. Rice football hosts Tulane a week removed from a primetime win over Tulsa on the road. Tulane comes to town fresh off a victory over North Texas. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s matchup between Rice and Tulane.

Kickoff time | 3:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN2 (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs Tulane on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. Look for a recap of the game on the site afterward as well as on The Roost Podcast, which should be released early next week.

Sizing up the contenders

Tulane is still in the driver’s seat for the New Year’s Six bowl slot for the Group of 5. A loss to anyone along the way wouldn’t necessarily slam the door on that chance, but it would make it considerably more challenging. The margin of error is fully dependent on how well others play. The Mean Green would much prefer to control their own destiny in that respect, making a win on Saturday important.

Rice football doesn’t have New Year’s Six aspirations, but they do still have hopes for a conference championship game appearance. That would get much more challenging should they take on any additional losses. 3-1 with a win against the current conference favorite would officially put Rice on the map.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads, 20-15-1
Last Five | Rice leads, 4-1
Last Meeting | Home 2013, Rice won 17-13

Get the Inside Scoop

Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to attack this week’s opponent, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. Don’t miss out! Join now!

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Daniels – 155/243 (63.8 percent), 2173 yards, 17 TD, 5 INT
Rushing | Connors – 50 carries, 300 yards (6.0 yards per carry), 4 TD / Otoviano – 47 carries, 171 yards (3.6 yards per carry), 2 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 36 receptions, 613 yards (17.0 yds/rec), 7 TDs / MacNeill – 21 receptions, 281 yards (13.4 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Conti – 46 / Wyatt – 45 / Morrison – 43
Pass Breakups | Fresch, Taylor – 5 / Devones – 4, Wyatt, Jean – 3
Interceptions | Taylor, Devones, Conti – 1

Tulane Stat Notables

Passing | Pratt – 80/113 (70.8 percent), 1121 yards, 12 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Hughes – 118 carries, 619 yards (5.2 yards per carry), 5 TD / Clayton-Johnson – 28 carries, 116 yards (4.1 ypc), 0 TD
Receiving | Keys – 27 receptions, 494 yards (18.3 yards per reception), 6 TD / Jackson – 19 receptions, 329 yards (17.3 yds/rec), 4 TD
Tackles | Machado – 51 / Despaine – 37 / Grubbs – 31
Pass Breakups | Pedescleaux – 7 / Eight others tied with 2
Interceptions | Robinson – 4 / Five others tied with 1

Tulane X-Factor | Stay on the field

Tulane and Rice rank second and third in the AAC, respectively, in time of possession. For both squads, being able to control the game and dictate how it’s played has been a crucial factor in their success. It’s how Rice was able to post their largest FBS win of the season last Thursday, controlling the second half almost entirely with two long possessions.

Rice is 0-2 this season when losing the time of possession battle whereas Tulane’s success hasn’t been as neatly tied to whether or not they control the clock. If the Green Wave are able to maintain command this time, though, they’ll be able to amplify any miscues the Owls have. A three-and-out becomes much more costly when you don’t get to see the ball again for an extended period of time.

Tulane must seek to give Rice a dose of its own medicine. Force the home team to execute to near-perfect standards when they have the football and minimize their margin for error. That’s given Rice trouble in the past and it could prove fatal against a team as talented as Tulane. 

Rice X-Factor | Hit some home runs

Rice won’t allow themselves to be intimidated against the reigning AAC Conference Champions. They’ll enter Saturday believing they can hang with the Green Wave. They can solidify those beliefs further by proving they can impose their will offensively against a Tulane defense that has been a bit leakier in the secondary than they’d like to admit. 

Tulane ranks 12th in the AAC in pass plays of 10+ yards allowed and 10th in pass plays of 20+ yards. Rice, on the other side of the ledger, leads all AAC teams in the latter category and is second in the former. Rice quarterback JT Daniels has become this team’s biggest asset and they’ve leaned into that identity in full force in their wins so far.

Sustained drives against the Tulane defense is a tough ask. Getting a few chunk plays here and there, particularly through the air, will go a long way toward helping Rice trade blows with the Tulane offense. It’s critical the Owls find success downfield.

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One Final Thing

Earlier odds have Tulane as a 10.5-point favorite against Rice on Saturday. In actuality, the Owls are the underdogs, a role they’ve reprised well in the past. Only two programs in the country, Wyoming and Ohio, have more outright wins as a home underdog since 2021 than Rice. Rice has been a home underdog just once this season, in Week 2 against Houston. They won outright.

The line is also indicative of a game oddsmakers project to be much more winnable than one might have initially thought. Tulane enters this game as a Top 25 team. Rice hasn’t beaten a ranked team since 2020. Nevertheless, Rice’s impressive performance against Tulsa has evidently gotten oddsmakers’ attention. When this time is rolling, they’re dangerous.

Now, whether or not they’re firing on all cylinders is a legitimate question. The UConn debacle isn’t all that far in the rearview mirror just yet. But the opportunity they have in front of them right now is quite tangible. Rice football should be able to hang with this team. If they can keep it close long enough, they might just have another historic upset on their hands, but they’d better come to play.

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Rice Football flips script, soars past Tulsa

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Rice Football earned a prime-time win on Thursday night, forcing three turnovers on their way to beating Tulsa on the road to move to 2-1 in AAC play.

The defense started the night strong with three turnovers in the first quarter, buying time before the offense exploded for 35 points. Both sides did enough to secure a much-needed victory over Tulsa on the road on ESPN.

The win was the Owls’ largest conference road win since 2003 and their first double-digit conference win of any kind since 2000. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Mine!

Rice football lost the turnover battle last time out, giving UConn the ball four times. With no takeaways of their own, that proved to be a recipe for disaster in a game the Owls would go on to lose. Flipping that script was a central talking point during the bye week, but it’s one thing to talk about forcing more turnovers and it’s another thing entirely to do what they did on Thursday night.

Gabe Taylor intercepted Tulsa’s first pass attempt of the evening. Then, following a turnover on downs, Rice ended another drive with a forced fumble with Jojo Jean knocking the ball away from quarterback Braylon Braxton into the arms of teammate De’Braylon Carroll. Josh Pearcy joined the fray on the next series, punching the ball out again, this time for Myron Morrison to recover.

Coming into Thursday night, Rice had forced two turnovers in their past 12 quarters of play, one apiece against South Florida and East Carolina. They surpassed that total in a single quarter against Tulsa, helping propel themselves to a 14-0 lead.

The Owls seem to have leaned all the way into a havoc-centric defensive scheme. They’ll give up chunk plays and set up looser coverage at times to ensure they keep the ball in front of them. If they compliment it with tackles for loss – they had seven against Tulsa — and turnovers, that might just get the job done.

Instant Rice and Ball Control

Alongside the explosive start by the Rice defense, the offense delivered several succinct scoring drives. The first was a two-play, 70-yard drive thanks to this breakaway touchdown run by Dean Connors:

Then another via a two-play, 53-yard drive concluded by this dart from Daniels to McCaffrey:

Rice entered this game as the top offense in the AAC in 30+ yard plays per game. That’s a stark difference from the team that had leaned on lengthy, 10+ play, clock-controlling drives in years past. When you have someone as capable as JT Daniels at quarterback, you might as well put his arm to good use. Rice is certainly doing that this year.

In fact, Daniels has completed a 30+ yard pass to 10 different pass catchers so far this season.

It’s also worth noting Daniels was not at his best early on . He finished the game completing 65 percent of his passes, but he started 5-of-13. Several of his throws went long, overshooting open receivers on plays that could have turned into significant gains. But that’s part of what makes the explosive plays so big.

When you’re missing your shots, even a few big gains can generate all the points you need. And when you’re locked in, the touchdowns arrive in bunches. Daniels finished the evening with 342 passing yards, two touchdowns and one, big win.

But it was how the Owls ended the night that was equally impressive. Their first three scoring drives took less than a minute. Their last two were both 13-plus plays and 8:00+ minutes. Dean Connors provided the exclamation point, running in a third touchdown on his nine-carry, 120-yard night.

It was a complete offensive performance, mixing the quick strike with relentless efficiency, by far their best outing of the year.

Special teams up and down

After a horrendous special teams day against UConn, the Rice coaching staff elected not to make any significant changes to personnel for this game. The results weren’t quite as disastrous — no turnovers were committed — but it wasn’t a great outing either. Results were decidedly up and down.

Conor Hunt’s first punt traveled just 37 yards and set Tulsa up with great field position. His next kick was near-perfect though, pinning Tulsa inside their own five-yard line on a perfect hanging kick that gave his coverage team plenty of time to get under the ball.

Punt returner Sean Fresch made a dangerous decision to field a punt in the final seconds in the first half, but made the catch off the bounce cleanly. He then delivered a 20-yard return to start the second half, getting Rice out of the shadow of its own endzone.

Enoch Gota booted the opening kickoff of the second half out of bounds but otherwise didn’t allow any returns. Rice did not attempt any field goals, but Tim Horn connected on all five extra-point tries.

Needed it. Got it.

Before the game, ESPN ran an interesting blub with their pregame commentary. They gave Rice a 37 percent chance to reach six wins as things currently stood. Those odds were set to nearly double should they beat Tulsa. Their win on Thursday elevated their current win total to four with a game left against Charlotte (who was a touchdown underdog to an ECU team Rice beat a few weeks ago).

As we learned against UConn, there are no gimmies with this team, not yet. But, Rice should be set up to have more than a puncher’s chance at a second-straight bowl season with two wins in their final five games. The road ahead is tough — defending AAC champion Tulane comes to Rice Stadium next weekend — but it’s tangible. And it won’t require a Herculean performance to get there.

“It just shows you that when we play the way we’re capable of, we can do some really fun things,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said postgame.

Rice needed this game. They absolutely had to have this game. And they found a way to win. We’ve watched this team mature over the course of the past few seasons and the past seven games. They’re proven they can beat anyone if they don’t beat themselves. Too often that seems a popular football cliche. This team is living it out, this time on national TV.

“I don’t think so,” Bloomgren chuckled when asked if he could have envisioned a better primetime performance. “What a great platform and I felt they used it really well.”

Rice football is its own worst enemy. On Thursday, they were their biggest advocates. A team playing that well can hang with anyone. The Owls just need to find a way to make sure that squad that won on the road shows up again next Saturday and each Saturday from this point onward.

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Getting off the field

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Rice Football 2023: Tulsa Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football is off the bye and headed to Tulsa for a prime-time conference game. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

Following two weeks of prep, Rice football is on its way north to play Tulsa in what has the makings of a pivotal AAC game for both squads. The Owls got started on their game plan last week and added the finishing touches over the last several days, including some hotly contested special teams battles and some potential playing time risers over the last several practices.

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This week’s roundup focuses on those potential changes over the bye week, what the Owls might do differently from a personnel standpoint and as always, a few injury notes, both good and bad.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Bye week adjustments

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